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By Chinyere Anyanwu
The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has officially launched the Women Agripreneur of the Year Award (WAYA) for 2024 through the Value for Her platform.
The event, which held in Abuja, Nigeria, is in commemoration of the International Women’s Day, with the theme: “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,” brought together agribusiness operators to honour influential women advocating for economic empowerment in the country.
WAYA is a prestigious award that recognises exceptional achievements made by female entrepreneurs (agripreneurs) in the agriculture sector in Africa.
The award for women agripreneur to which AGRA is inviting applications, not only celebrates their remarkable innovations but also rewards them with grants of up to $85,000.
These grants are distributed across four categories: Young Female Agripreneur, Female Agriculture Tech Innovator, Outstanding Value Adding Enterprise, and the coveted Overall Grand Prize. To be eligible, businesses must operate within an agricultural or agribusiness value chain, be legally registered in an African Union country, and be at least 51 per cent owned and managed by women who are citizens of one of the 55 African countries.
Speaking at the event, AGRA’s Acting Head of the Youth, Gender, and Inclusivity Division, Winnie Osulah, said, “we received 1,478 applications for WAYA from women in 38 African countries in 2023. We look forward to receiving additional applications from women in the agricultural and agribusiness sectors of Africa this year as we open applications again, and to honouring their unrelenting efforts, creative ideas and outstanding leadership.”
AGRA, Synergos, UN Women and LAWN Gender Consortium leveraged the Abuja IWD event to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration. They recognised the significance of the occasion in bringing together stakeholders from diverse sectors, including government, civil society and the private sector, to address gender equality and women’s empowerment issues.
Juliette Lampoh-Agroh, Country Programme Lead for AGRA in Nigeria stated: “Today we are gathered to recognise the leading role of women actively advocating for economic empowerment of women, and to set the stage for driving advocacy agendas, conversations and targeted policies essential to ensure women in Africa agribusiness have equal opportunity to access finance and thrive.”
During the event, representatives engaged in interactive workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions, facilitating meaningful exchanges of experiences, ideas and best practices. They highlighted the importance of creating an enabling environment for women to fully participate in economic, social and political spheres, and emphasised the need for evidence-based interventions to address gender disparities.
The AGRA Women Entrepreneurship Specialist, Jacqueline Chepkoech, said, “through targeted information, capacity building initiatives, and strategic partnerships, we are dedicated to creating an enabling environment that empowers women to thrive as entrepreneurs and leaders in the agricultural value chain.”
